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We look at key developments within our Investment Fraud & Mis-selling team over the past year.
It has been a busy year for the our IFM team. In January, we launched an Investment Fraud & Mis-selling website, with lots of information to help individuals who have fallen victim to financial scams and mis-selling get their money back. Also in January, we announced that we would be working with the Investment Fraud All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), helping to ensure that victims of investment fraud are better protected.
Throughout the year we have been raising awareness of issues such as British Steel Pension Scheme mis-selling, the British Armed Forces pensions mis-selling scandal, NFT fraud, and crypto scams in the media. We have also spoken out about the need to overhaul the current investment warning system (amongst other things).
In Spring, we further strengthened our commitment to achieving group redress when our firm became a founding member of the Collective Redress Lawyers Association (CORLA). And in July, as we became KP Law, we raised the issue of whole-of-life insurance policy mis-selling, and we began to highlight a number of schemes, investments & providers that have been accused of pension mis-selling.
Later in the year, I spoke at the TL4 Disputes Group Litigation and Class Actions conference.
In our 2022 year-in-review report, our expert lawyers take a look at some of the key cases and developments that occurred in the world of Investment Fraud & Mis-selling law over the last 12 months.
Our Investment Fraud & Mis-selling team helps individuals who have fallen victim to financial scams get their money back.
In January 2022 (operating as Keller Lenkner UK), we launched a dedicated website to help people about the risk.
The APPG was launched on 18 January 2022. It aims to ensure that victims of investment fraud are protected.
Ben Rees, Technical Director of our Investment Fraud & Mis-selling group commented on the British Armed Forces pensions mis-selling scandal. He said:
“A career in the services comes with endless sacrifices and it is our mission to secure compensation where military personnel have suffered a financial loss due to unlawful conduct or negligence.
“A military pension offers guaranteed pension payments for life, which rise with inflation as the veteran gets older, a guarantee that is extremely valuable. Moving a military pension is rarely advisable so military personnel should have been able to make an informed decision and provided with sound and appropriate advice before transferring out. Sadly, this appears not to have happened in this case and many thousands of veterans have lost significant sums of money.”
Ben’s comments were published in Money Marketing, as well as in Professional Adviser, Pensions Age, and London News Today.
The Legal Diary published a weekly update of current legal news. In this roundup, Mark Kenkre, Partner and Head of Investment Mis-selling and Fraud, commented on the class-action lawsuit from a group of cryptocurrency investors against Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather.
Mark’s comments can be found here.
In January 2022, we were extremely pleased to announce that our firm was shortlisted for Law Firm of the Year at the 2022 LexisNexis Legal Awards.
The Awards recognise and celebrate excellence and innovation across the legal sector.
Partner Mark Kenkre examined the legal implications stemming from crypto exchange system outages, in The Fintech Times. The article can be found here.
Committed to fostering a culture of equality and diversity, we are passionate about supporting women in the workplace. Some of the ways we do this are through career progression, representation, and by celebrating the achievements of the outstanding women in our firm.
To mark International Women’s Day (IWD) 2022, we shone a spotlight on some of the women who make our firm what it is. We were also proud to take part in an International Women’s Day Panel Event.
We were extremely pleased to be shortlisted in three categories at the Modern Law Awards. The categories were Business Growth Award, Innovation of the Year, and Boutique Law Firm of the Year.
Partner Mark Kenkre examined the common types of cryptocurrency scams and methods to avoid them in the Express. Mark’s article was also published in FNTalk, SVSINDS and Germanic News.
In March 2022, we were delighted to be one of the Collective Redress Lawyers Association (CORLA) founding members, alongside UK group litigation firms Edwin Coe, Hausfeld & Co, Leigh Day, Milberg London, and PGMBM.
CORLA was established to promote and facilitate reforms and practice that provide effective and ever-improving access to justice for claimants by way of collective redress.
Mark Kenkre explored the FCA’s plans to replace its current financial promotions regime with one that is more consumer-friendly and rooted in behavioural science, in Compliance Monitor. Mark’s article can be found here.
Fake cryptocurrency investments are a growing concern. Last year, Britons lost more than £150 million to cryptocurrency fraudsters, with 18-25-year-olds the hardest hit. To help people avoid this scenario, our expert lawyers examined the common types of cryptocurrency scams and outlined some methods to avoid them. Get our tips here
Associate Alessio Ianiello commented on the FCA’s decision to invoke its emergency powers to stop financial advisers involved in the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) mis-selling scandal from offloading their assets to avoid paying compensation. Alessio’s comments were published in City A. M. and can be found here.
Mark Kenkre, associate Matt Sumpton and paralegal Ufedo Omale examined the impact of greenwashing in ESG funds on investors, and the potential to seek justice through collective redress. The article was published in Law360 and can be found here.
Mark Kenkre also explored new models of online banking fraud and highlighted avenues for reform in Solicitors Journal. Mark’s article can be found here.
Technical Director Ben Rees and Associate Alessio Ianiello analysed the British Steel pensions scandal and the FCA’s proposed redress scheme in Law360. Ben and Alessio’s article can be found here.
Eleanor Leedham, Senior Associate, reflected on possible outcomes in the competition group action claim against a cartel of power cable producers.
Eleanor’s article was published in Lawyer Monthly and can be found here.
On 4 July 2022, we changed our name to KP Law.
This change came as Warren Postman – one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America – stepped into a new role as Managing Partner in our US office.
With an enviable reputation for taking on corporate giants, our work in group actions and mass litigation continued. We also carred on representing individual clients seeking redress for violations of their legal rights.
In July 2022, our Investment Fraud & Mis-selling team began raising awareness of whole-of-life insurance policy mis-selling. You might be the victim of whole-of-life insurance mis-selling if a financial advisor (or insurance provider) convinced you to purchase a life insurance policy on a maximum cover basis and:
If this applies to you, you should contact us to discuss a potential mis-selling claim.
Find out more about whole-of-life insurance policy mis-selling here.
Also in July, Technical Director Ben Rees examined the FCA’s permissions regime clampdown and highlights the implications for consumers in Law360. Ben’s article was published on 8 July 2022 and can be found here.
Ben also examined the FCA’s clampdown on firms misusing regulatory approvals in a bid to protect consumers from being misled about exposure to financial risk in Compliance Monitor. Ben’s article was published on 14 July 2022 and can be found here.
Pension mis-selling happens when advisors or companies talk people into transferring their pensions into unsuitable, unregulated, or failed schemes. We help people in England & Wales claim back what they are due following pension mis-selling.
In July 2022, we began to raise awareness of a number of schemes, investments & providers that have already been accused of pension mis-selling. These included:
Pension provider Berkeley Burke has been at the centre of a high-profile court battle after many people lost money in mis-sold SIPPs. The company has now gone into administration with the SIPP branch being sold to Hartley Pensions.
Because the Dolphin Trust was not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and it was a high-risk investment, many investors’ life savings had been put at unnecessary risk.
It is likely that those who are involved in the Liberty SIPP mis-selling situation will be able to claim compensation as the provider has now been declared in default by the FSCS.
Pension provider Rowanmoor has faced considerable backlash and received hundreds of complaints regarding a lack of due diligence involving investments made through their SIPP product.
We have since added to this list.
In July 2022, we began to raise awareness of a number of schemes, investments & providers that have already been accused of pension mis-selling. In August, we added to this list by highlighting failures at:
A discretionary fund manager and stockbroker, Beaufort Securities Limited sold multiple pension products, including SIPPs. Despite being in administration, there are still hundreds of investors registering complaints about this firm.
A provider of SIPPs, the company advised thousands of people in the UK to invest in unsuitable schemes, leaving them out of pocket and short on their pensions.
If you were mis-sold a Gaudi pension, this could be because the financial service or products in question were unsuitable or because a financial advisor or provider put you under undue pressure to invest in a Gaudi SIPP scheme.
The FSCS has paid out more than £98 million in compensation for mis-sold Harlequin Properties claims.
The FCA has highlighted serious operational and regulatory issues at Hartley Pensions Limited, and many investors have gone online to lament the loss or erosion of their pensions at the hand of the SIPP provider.
Even though Heritage has entered into liquidation, you can still claim compensation of up to £85,000.
During 2009 – 2011, 40% of SIPP investments made by Montpelier were non-standard. In October 2010, a supervisory visit discovered that the company was not following the proper guidelines.
In 2016, a BBC Panorama programme highlighted the issue when it showed unregulated financial advisors promising a 10% return after a year of investment into the Cape Verde scheme.
Mark Kenkre, Partner and Head of the Investment Fraud and Mis-Selling Team, and Lesley-Ann Ainsworth, Senior Associate, explored the surge in group actions relating to crypto investments following a crash in the value of cryptoassets.
The article was published in BusinessCloud, 15 August 2022, and can be found here. A different version of Mark and Lesley-Ann’s article was published in PLC Magazine, 25 August 2022, and can be found here.
In September 2022, we were delighted to be shortlisted for ‘Boutique Law Firm of the Year’ at the prestigious British Legal Awards 2022. The honours are “the premier legal awards in the UK” and represent the best of the best within the UK’s legal community.
In September, we highlighted two more companies accused of pension mis-selling.
After being hit with thousands of claims for mis-selling pensions, Lifetime SIPPs went into administration. If you are affected, you may be entitled to claim compensation.
Before a company invests your pension money, these investments must be properly checked and vetted. However, in the case of Greyfriars, this did not happen.
We also raised awareness of Harlequin Properties after its former chairman was found guilty of fraud.
Ben Rees, Technical Director of the Investment Fraud & Mis-selling group, argued for a better government response to pensions mis-selling in Law 360. Ben’s article can be found here.
Scammers are becoming more and more convincing. Our Investment Fraud & Mis-selling team has seen many intelligent and savvy people fall victim to pension fraud, and we understand the financial and emotional damage this can cause. In September 2022, we highlighted advice from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) which warned people to look out for scammers as the cost of living soared.
In October 2022, our firm was ranked Band 1 for its Group Litigation expertise in the Chambers and Partners UK Guide 2023.
Access our Chambers & Partners UK 2023 profiles, rankings and quotes here.
Mark Kenkre, Partner and Head of the Investment Mis-selling and Fraud team, spoke on the factors behind bringing a successful claim at the TL4 Disputes Group Litigation and Class Action conference in London.
Mark discussed how the utilisation of technology, After The Event insurance, funding, and the role of a lead lawyer all play an integral role in the success of a group action claim. More information about the conference can be found here.
We recognise that our functions and operations have an impact on the environment. In response, we seek not only to reduce the environmental footprint of our own activities, but also the wider impact of dispute resolution. To help advance this aim, in September 2022, we signed the Greener Litigation Pledge.
The Greener Litigation Pledge is a commitment to action by solicitors’ firms, barristers’ chambers, lawtech companies, and other dispute professionals. In signing the Greener Litigation Pledge, our firm committed to taking active steps to reduce, with a view to minimising, the environmental impact of our practice in England and Wales, and to the reduction of our emissions in line with the objective of restricting global warming to 1.5°C.
In 2017, many workers were advised to swap their secure “final salary” British Steel pensions into SIPPS, QROPS, and other types of personal pensions. But while the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) provided a generous pay-out on retirement and kept pace with inflation, the new pensions often did not deliver comparable remunerations. This left many steelworkers significantly worse off on retirement.
In most cases, the affected steelworkers suffered losses of around £82,000, but for some workers, this rose to £489,000. Almost 8,000 people could be affected by this scandal, with around £2.8 billion transferred from British Steel’s pension scheme.
The financial advisors caught-up in this scandal often received commission or other fees for facilitating the pension transfers. Around 50% of the advice given to BSPS members was unsuitable. Better Retirement Group (BRG) is one of the companies found guilty of British Steel pension mis-selling.
We are currently looking into a group action case against Better Retirement Group and in November 2022 we launched a campaign to raise awareness of BSPS mis-selling.
If you were persuaded to transfer your British Steel pension to a private scheme – either by BRG or another advisor – you might have been mis-sold and we can help you to make a claim.
Fake cryptocurrency investments are a growing concern. In 2021, according to Action Fraud, Britons lost more than £150 million to cryptocurrency fraudsters, with 18-25-year-olds the hardest hit. Like traditional money, cryptocurrencies can be used to buy goods and services, and they can be traded for profit. So, it is no surprise that the cryptocurrency is being targeted by criminals. With the equivalent of millions of pounds being stolen from cryptocurrency holdings each year, this is a very lucrative market.
KP Law is a consumer champion law firm. Acting for clients who deserve to win, we do everything we can to ensure that they do.
Our Investment Fraud & Mis-Selling team helps individuals and businesses impacted by scams, fraud, and mis-selling by professional advisors. Because we have a deep understanding of, and extensive experience in this area, we help our clients get their money back.
Working on a no-win, no-fee basis, we are never afraid of a fight and are ready to take on complicated cases that other law firms shy away from. From small claims to large multi-party actions, we have everything it takes to win when it comes to getting justice for our clients.
Sensitive to your situation, we know that, as well as financially devastating, being the victim of fraud or mis-selling can also harm your mental health, and we never underestimate this emotional impact.
Working closely with consumer organisations, financial regulators, and government agencies, we also lobby for better access to justice for people who have become victims of failed investments or negligent advice.
If you have been mis-sold a pension or another investment product, we can help you make successful compensation claim.
If you have lost money due to investment fraud, we can help you get your money back. This includes cryptocurrency fraud.
If a financial advisor persuaded you to make an unregulated, unsuitable, or potentially fraudulent investment and you are facing the wrath of HMRC, we can help.
Pursuing claims in the UK and abroad, if you have lost money due to fraudulent or negligent investment advice, we are here to help.
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